Tim Donnelly vs. Paul Cook Rebuttal

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Tim Donnelly, who is running for Congress in California's 8th Congressional District, was on Constitution Radio a week ago.  Immediately following that interview, co-host JASmius provided an article critiquing the Tea Party candidate, and in that article told us everything we need to know about what is wrong with the Republican Party, and why candidates like Cruz and Trump are the leaders of the pack when it comes to the process to represent the Grand Ol' Party in the 2016 General Election for President of the United States.  The problem is not whether or not the people who think like JASmius are conservative.  I have no doubt that JASmius, and those with like-minds, are conservative as heck.  But, when it comes to strategies and tactics, they have fallen for the establishment arguments that have gotten us into the mess we are in in the first place.  We compromise too much.  We have been making deals with the Democrats and we get comparatively nothing back.  The liberal left Democrats bargain high and get everything, and the Republicans bargain low and get nothing. . . and that kind of politics has got to stop.  Candidates like Donnelly believe in standing their ground, and pushing to achieve more than a few crumbs off the legislative table.  Yet, writers like JASmius accuse folks who are "Tea Party" of not understanding the legislative process, and defends the "let's get a few crumbs" method.

I have met and spent time with both Paul Cook (the incumbent), and Tim Donnelly.  They are both fine gentlemen.  Cook even knows a fair share about the Constitution.  With the 2016 race coming up, I was under the impression that Cook may be stepping down, which was a part of the reason Donnelly was running for his seat in the first place.  Perhaps it is going to be an "R" vs. "R" race.  Cook's conservative rating, like most Republicans who spend more than a term or two in Washington, has been marching steadily southward.  Like Congressmen named Ken Calvert, or Mitch McConnel, Cook is a good Republican. . . but that does not necessarily make him a good conservative.

As a lifer-military veteran of the United States Marine Corps, who saw combat and earned a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts during the Vietnam War, Cook is largely conservative when it comes to Washington's way of dealing with the military, although sometimes he can be a little on the wishy-washy side when pressed by the opposition.  In other words, he sometimes goes along to get along.

Cook went along with the omnibus budget bill, for one, which makes him a target for removal in the eyes of conservatives.  He also voted to reauthorize the dreaded Export-Import Bank, and voted against placing any cap on any portion of the federal budget.  It was that kind of establishment bologna that sent Boehner packing, and caused Eric Cantor to lose his seat in Congress.  So, when it comes to the problem we have with the Republican establishment not standing up to their leftist counterparts, representatives like Cook are a part of the problem, not a part of the solution.

Enter, stage right, Tim Donnelly.  Donnelly is a true conservative, and one willing to Fight Fight Fight as needed.  A successful entrepreneur, Donnelly made his first mark on the political stage by being a part of the Minuteman Project in 2005.  His involvement in politics led him to run for, and win, a seat in the California State Assembly (the State's version of the House of Representatives).  He voted perfectly conservative, despite the pressure applied by a radically leftist legislature in Sacramento.  Then, in 2014, Donnelly threw his hat into the ring for governor of California - the obvious conservative choice over left-leaning, Keynesian economic knucklehead, Neel Kashkari.

The Republican Party played its establishment game, pumping money into Kashkari, and ignoring the more conservative Donnelly, making it a "Tim against the big money establishment" race. . . and the reality is, in California it's hard enough to win as a conservative - it's even harder if the party tells you to kiss off because party leadership has no intention of assisting you.

Leftist Republican Party infiltrator Charles Munger was probably a large part of the problem. . . he usually is.

I spent time with some of the Republican Party insiders of the time, and they argued "if we are to have a chance to win, we need to go with a more moderate candidate like Kashkari."  I was disgusted.  The GOP leadership wasn't even willing to give the conservative a second look. . . which is why Republicans keep losing.  Conservatism wins.  This wishy-washy "we've gotta chase moderate voters" attitude, and "be mindful of Charles Munger's money" (blech) is costing us seats both at the State-level, and nationally.  Conservatives ARE NOT THE MINORITY nationally, and I even think that if conservatives were to all vote we'd prove to be a voting majority in California, too.  The problem is, conservatives never have a candidate they are willing to come out and vote for because of the ridiculous GOP Establishment notion that conservatives can't win as pure conservatives.

During the interview on the radio program, Mr. Donnelly revealed why he is the obvious conservative choice.  Unlike the touchy-feely Republicans, Donnelly is willing to stand up to the leftists, and the infiltrators in the Republican Party (and reject the money of people like Charles Munger).  He is much like Cruz is as Senator, willing to recognize that when it comes to the political machine, there is no difference between the parties.  They are doing what they can to keep their power, despite what should (or shouldn't) be done regarding the affairs of the United States.  Tim, on the Constitution Radio program verbalized his support for the House Freedom Caucus, and the great work they are doing to attempt to steer us away from continued disaster in Washington.

As Mr. Donnelly spoke during the radio program, at one point he did iterate that when it comes to the inner-workings, there is no difference between the two parties, and JASmius rolled his eyes.  Somehow, Republicans like JASmius believe that business as usual should remain in place, that somehow the "hands in each other's pockets" method of legislation is the way the process is supposed to be.  The legislative process is damaged.  It is based on a method of buying and selling votes that the participants are convinced is necessary to run a country.  Give the Devil his due, and you will be awarded with crumbs.  The fact is, we are making a deal with the Devil, and it has got to stop.  No more compromises.  No more wacko budget deals.  No more omnibus spending bills.  We need People like Tim Donnelly telling the Republican Establishment, and the Democrats, that the compromising stops now.

So, while JASmius was itching to argue with Donnelly, I was smiling because someone like Tim Donnelly is exactly what we need in Congress.  In fact, we need a mess-load of them.  There aren't enough conservatives in legislative positions who are willing to act as if they are the opposition to the Democrats.  While the establishment is kissing the rear-quarters of Democrats, we need conservatives who reject the Democrat claim that they are willing to work with Republicans, and that they are interested in coalition building.  Ronald Reagan learned, after being burned by the Democrats, that the Democrats lie.  They cheat.  They are dishonest.  I have no interest in compromising with them because we have absolutely nothing in common with them.

Fighting is what is left.  Fighting them, and defeating them.

Conservatives are the majority in this country.  In a base versus base battle, if the Republican were to espouse truly conservative ideals, and do so in an articulate manner, the GOP wins just about every time.  The true leftists are less than 15% of the country.  Most people hate government interfering in their lives.  There are an awful lot of people who vote Democrat because they buy the propaganda bull, and they think life is all about government handouts - but if you talk to them only about the Constitution, and individual issues, they are actually quite conservative.  The media, the Democrats, and the infiltrators have people convinced this country is making a leftward turn, that most people are leftist buffoons, and it is just not true.

I was in a conversation with a "democrat" voter the other day, set aside party politics, and simply talked Constitution.  The limited government principles of the Constitution are exactly what the GOP is supposed to be about.  The Democrat agreed with me on every single issue we discussed regarding the way things should function.  On a couple issues the person did not necessarily agree morally, but he did when it came to "localism," and the importance of internal issues being handled by local, or State, government.  Then, at the end, I told him that he was more Republican than Democrat in his answers.  He argued, telling me that the Republicans want to raise taxes, and that the GOP is racist and that the Republicans creating the KKK was proof.  Except, it's the GOP that wants to reduce taxes, and the KKK was created by the Democrat Party.  He didn't believe me.  The problem wasn't that he was not a conservative. . . it was that he is conservative, but is not informed enough to realize it.

While establishment figures are looking for allies who lean to the left, we really need to reacquaint ourselves with the allies we have who are conservative.  While seeking a coalition with the enemy, the Republican Party has alienated its own base, and then wonders why they have been struggling in elections.  Quit chasing alliances with the enemy, and articulate conservatism. . . it's not too late, conservatism still wins when properly presented - even in an alleged "blue" State.

So, while establishment Republicans, and those who have bought into the "we are a minority" propaganda seeks making deals with the Devil, I will take candidates like Tim Donnelly who are willing to take a stand. . . and will get results once the people who are "chasing moderates" as a tactic finally realizes it is their strategy that has been making the GOP lose.

Has folks like Donnelly made mistakes in the past?  Of course.  We're human.  That's what we do.  He said things about Kashkari that could be considered by some to be off the reservation.  He forgot he had his gun with him at the airport.  Fine.  Let's stop condemning our own candidates while their offenses are minor compared to what Democrats do.  How about so-called Republicans quit chopping conservatives off at the knees by going around and putting neon signs around their few mistakes, and forget the propaganda the liberal left throws around at our candidates, and actually decide to quit acting like leftists and instead support our own conservative candidates?

Just a thought.

It wouldn't be an uphill fight if the GOP establishment would just quit acting like an obstacle.

Unfortunately, Cook will probably win the race because the California GOP, heavily influenced by leftist money like Charles Munger's, will pump funding into Cook, and because voters are blinded by the word "incumbent."  However, if people were to actually do their homework, they'd discover that Tim Donnelly is the better, more conservative, candidate.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary